Post-initial impressions of NOTH

Gender, religion, family and childhood are all mixed up in this web of a film. When viewing the film for the first time, I wondered why John didn't just leave Pearl behind sometimes. More often than not, John would escape Powell easily, but be forced to turn around to help poor, innocent Pearl narrowly escape the preacher. Looking back on it now, this speaks not only to John's character but also the outsider idea of giving women a chance. John would jeopardize his safety to protect his sister (displaying Miss Cooper's teachings without knowing it), and help educate this young girl who would hopefully grow up to be less naïve than the generation before her.

Family/ Childhood as status in society:  John and Pearl were outsiders in the film because they were not yet brainwashed by their parents' society. In a way, John and Pearl had gotten out just in time. What this film says about the institution of family during this time is that it is toxic for independent thinking. Their parents were gone before they could teach their children the strict and arbitrary ways of corrupt authority. In this way they were lucky; they found a woman (with no biological children of her own) and through charity and true Christian acts, she was able to nurture them to become more than what society thought they were: money.
The idea of children as money still really intrigues me. Powell saw John and Pearl as his insurance policy, claiming to care for orphans but only for the money. Miss Cooper did it out of her own kindness, not for any personal or monetary gain. Similar to John, Huck was pap's insurance. He allowed pap to do whatever he wanted and live in the lie of what society told him. Society saw children as dispensable byproducts of religious tradition, a sort of formality in life. What set Miss Cooper apart was her recognition of this view's falsehood.